


Adjusting Better Than Expected

by afteriwake



Series: Formerly Of Z-Loan [2]
Category: Bleach, Zombie-Loan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2012-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-16 10:35:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's getting easier to adjust with him there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adjusting Better Than Expected

While she was still getting used to things in Seirieiti (that was one of the first things she learned, that where she was was called Seirieiti and the outer area was called the Rukongai), one thing that she learned quickly was that Captain Hisagi was someone she could trust, as were the other Captains. He had been right, that they were friendly, and it had helped her adjust much more than she'd thought she would be able to.

It also didn't hurt that she'd developed a crush on her protector in the month or so she'd been there. In some ways he reminded her of Shito, but memories of him now had a taint so she tried not to think about him. It hurt, even though she knew that if it had been him and not the...thing...he'd been turned into (because she _refused_ to think of it as a human, much less Shito) he wouldn't have done it.

He was there when her thoughts would wander, when she would think about her old life and the things she associated with it. He'd simply wait a few moments and then say something to draw her attention back to the task at hand, usually with a gentle smile. She liked his smile; smiling was not something Shito did very often, so it was nice to see someone she liked smile at her.

He was also very patient with her. Even though he said she had high spiritual pressure, the things he and the others were training her to do was _hard_ work. Learning kidou was especially difficult, because of the incantation and the pulling of her spiritual pressure to make something happen. But the swordsmanship...that was easy. Even in death she had great reflexes.

She also learned about the daily things everyone had to do. There seemed to be an endless supply of paperwork that she was helping with. She was told that normally a Lieutenant would be helping, but no one had wanted the Lieutenant spot so he was left with her and a third seat. Apparently his was not the only division without a Lieutenant; the 13th Division had two third seats who shared the duties a Lieutenant would have.

Learning the ins and outs of being one of these shinigami was complicated, but she was learning the ranks and the structure and some days (though not many, simply because there were so many) she actually remembered most of the names of people she met. She'd learned which people to avoid, which divisions to avoid, and who to become friendly (but not too friendly, since she was keeping secrets) with.

And he was there for her when she just needed to talk, to let something slip when she was reminded of home, of all the people she knew and the life she'd lead. He talked as well, and she learned of the Winter War, of the battles he had fought and seen, of the Captain he'd killed, of a boy around her age named Ichigo Kurosaki and how he saved the world, both worlds. He told her these things in a way that told her it was not something talked about much, that maybe the wounds were still too fresh for some.

But it helped her adjust. Now when she saw the 13th Division member named Rukia Kuchiki or the 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai she knew what they had lost, and she could feel their pain. They were separated from their friend just as she was separated from hers. And she knew nothing of how her friends were doing, not a damn thing. That was the only thing she truly hated about being there, the not knowing. All she was told was that Shito was lost, and that was only because she had begged to know.

But it was the way she was told he was lost that made her wonder. In the things Hisagi-san (because he asked her to be less formal with him, if it made her more comfortable, and it did) had told her, she learned of the reincarnation of souls, of how they went from Soul Society to the world of the living and back again. She wondered if his soul was here in Soul Society, or if he had simply been obliterated. Of course, no one could say, and she didn't press. But...as much as she was beginning to enjoy Hisagi-san's company, in the back of her mind she hoped that Shito had come to Soul Society and one day, maybe, she might see him again.

She wanted to know about the others, but all she was told was that they were alive, that no one had gone to collect them. The fact that she was told that made her wonder if her friends were special, too, that if they died their loans would be wiped clean and they would be brought to be with her, to be protected from something unknown, some danger that Hisagi-san and the other Captains who knew the truth believed was very real and very much a threat.

But these things didn't bother her when it was just her and Hisagi-san. She found herself wanting to spend more time with him for the peace he wrapped around them when they were together. It was almost as though he didn't realize he did it, kept things calm and serene, kept her sane when her thoughts threatened to overwhelm her. Tonight was a good example. He'd found she liked to look at the stars, so he had taken her to a hill near the barracks where they lived and they would stay there and talk and stargaze.

They had talked about so many things, and she found herself getting sleepy from the long day she'd had, with the kidou training and the swordsmanship lessons and the endless piles of paperwork. He'd introduced her to the newsletter staff and she'd done some simple work for them as well today, and she was more tired than she'd thought she'd be. They had been sitting side by side, him propped up on his elbows and her flat on her back. She hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep until she felt herself being lifted up, cradled in two strong arms.

She opened her eyes a bit and looked up at him before nestling in closer. She knew he could flash step them back to her quarters in no time, but he walked, and she settled in, wrapping her arms around his neck and feeling his warmth through his clothing. She shut her eyes again and sighed in contentment. She felt totally at ease with him, totally comfortable, and she didn't want the moment to end. But it did. He opened her door and stepped inside her rooms, settling her on her bed when she let go of him.

“Thank you,” she murmured, stretching a bit and opening her eyes again, just a little. She saw him smile, felt him brush her hair away. Then she saw a look cross his face, a look she didn't quite understand, and he slowly leaned over and kissed her forehead gently. If she had been more awake she would have thought more of it, or maybe not done what she did next, but she reached her hand up and caressed his cheek for a moment before lowering it again, letting it slide down his face and neck before she pulled it away, curling it into a fist next to her and drifting back off into sleep, warm and content and happy as she did.


End file.
